Evaluating Radiative Closure in the Middle-to-Upper Troposhere

Tobin, David C ; Turner, David D ; Knuteson, Robert O

关键词: Infrared radiance;    water vapor;    upper troposphere;    radiative transfer;    water vapor continuum;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1059050
RP-ID  :  DOE/ER/64167
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1059050
Others  :  Other: 144PE24

学科分类：环境科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

This project had two general objectives. The first is the characterization and improvement of the radiative transfer parameterization in strongly absorbing water vapor bands, as these strongly absorbing bands dictate the clear sky radiative heating rate. The second is the characterization and improvement of the radiative transfer in cirrus clouds, with emphasis on ensuring that the parameterization of the radiative transfer is consistent and accurate across the spectrum. Both of these objectives are important for understanding the radiative processes in the mid-to-upper troposphere. The research on this project primarily involved analysis of data from the First and Second Radiative Heating in Underexplored Bands Campaigns, RHUBC-I and II. This included a climate model sensitivity study using results from RHUBC-I. The RHUBC experiments are ARM-funded activities that directly address the objectives of this research project. A secondary effort was also conducted that investigated the trends in the long-term (~14 year) dataset collected by the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) at the ARM Southern Great Plains site. This work, which was primarily done by a post-doc at the University of Wisconsin, Madison under Dr. Turner's direction, uses the only NIST-traceable instrument at the ARM site that has a well-documented calibration and uncertainty performance to investigate long-term trends in the downwelling longwave radiance above this site.